We had a lovely evening last Wednesday and the moths came flocking for the first time this year, a very welcome arrival which has since slowed down again as clear skies have brought colder nights - but, touch wood, none of the frost which turns our beautiful magnolia blooms into loo-paper at a stroke.
The sunny days - a truly wonderful stretch which happily coincides with a prolonged visit here by American friends - have also upped my butterfly count, with restless Orange-tips roaming the garden since last Tuesday and several Peacocks and a red Admiral adding to the ranks of hibernators emerging blinking into the sunshine.
The moths which gave me most satisfaction were the Herald with its zebra legs and shield-shape, both a herald of Spring and a natural equivalent of heraldic finery, the Chocolate-tip with its perky tail and the Least Black Arches, the minuscule baby of that tribe.
I took some of the haul down to see some friends at an Oxford pub where they escaped to freedom, causing a flurry of concern about cashmere sweaters which I expertly allayed. Only two micro-moth species represent a threat but the good name of every moth is sadly and often besmirched by their caterpillars' devastating work.
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| Chocolate-tip |
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| Least Black Arches - very teeny |
Other arrivals included the flamboyant little Streamer below along with a Double-Striped Pug, the micro Diurnea fagella, a Common Plume, two Early (rather than tea-related Earl) Grey and half-dozen each of Common Quakers and Hebrew Characters.
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| Common Quaker |
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| and another, a little browner in tone which is variable in this species |
More soon, I hope.
